Subscribe

Scientists detect signals from first stars in the universe

Scientists have detected a signal from what may be the universe’s first stars, which started shining about 180 million years after the Big Bang, reports Space.com. The signal was so strong, scientists think it may have been caused by early star material interacting with dark matter.

Why it matters: "It’s quite possible that this is worth two Nobel Prizes,” if the interpretation is correct, theoretical astrophysicist Avi Loeb of Harvard University told Science News. One prize for finding cosmic dawn, and another because of the implications for understanding dark matter.

Prior to the revelation, the oldest stars ever seen date to about 400 million years after the Big Bang. Judd Bowman, the lead author of the study and an astronomer at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration, told Space.com that the detected signals will allow scientists to better understand about when and how stars were formed in the earlier times.

Yes, but: "[F]or the discovery to be rock-solid, another research group needs to spot the signal as well," writes Space.com's Mike Wall.

Go deeper

Protesters gather north of Lafayette Square near the White House during a demonstration against racism and police brutality, in Washington, D.C. on Saturday evening. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been rallying in cities across the U.S. and around the world to protest the killing of George Floyd. Huge crowds assembled in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago for full-day events on Saturday.

Despite a ban on large gatherings implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic, protesters rally against racism in front of the American Embassy in Paris on June 6. Photo: Julien Mattia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of people have continued to rally in cities across the world against racism and show their support this week for U.S. demonstrators protesting the death in police custody of George Floyd.